Jodi Patrick HolschuhSherrie L. Nist

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Effective College Learning

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Chapter 7

Figuring Out the Task

Chapter 7

Read this chapter to answer the following questions:

• WHAT DO WE MEAN BY TASK? • HOW IS THE TASK COMMUNICATED?

• HOW CAN YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR PROFESSOR EXPECTS?• WHAT TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY MIGHT PROFESSORS

INCORPORATE INTO THEIR COURSES?

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DIRECTIONS: Rate the following tasks. Place an E beside the tasks you consider the easiest, an M beside thetasks you consider a middle level of difficulty, and a D beside the tasks you consider the most difficult.

SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. ................ Taking a matching exam in history

2. ................ Analyzing a chemical process for a chemistry lab

3. ................ Writing a persuasive essay for English class

4. ................ Evaluating and drawing a conclusion about several articles presenting conflicting accountsof an event for political science class

5. ................ Taking a multiple-choice exam over two psychology chapters

6. ................ Taking an exam over the bold-faced terms for a biology class

7. ................ Debating a controversial issue in sociology class

8. ................ Giving an informational speech for a speech communications class

9. ................ Solving calculus problems on a mathematics exam

How you rated these tasks probably had something to do with your own personal background and interests.For example, if you love mathematics you might think solving calculus problems is easy. However, there aresome overarching ideas that make numbers 1 and 6 the easiest; numbers 2, 5, 8, and 9 somewhere in themiddle; and numbers 3, 4, and 7 the most difficult tasks. You’ll learn why in this chapter.

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What Is a Task?In Chapter 6 we introduced the idea that there are four factors that impact learning and brieflydiscussed the role that task understanding plays in being an active learner.We will talk about taskunderstanding here in greater detail because much of your success as a college student rests onyour ability to interpret the tasks in your courses.There’s more to studying and being an effectivestudent than meets the eye and “studying hard” is not always “studying smart.” Your ability tounderstand what your professor wants you to do and the way you are supposed to do it goes along way toward making you a more efficient and effective student.Why? To answer this question,we’ll explore two important aspects of task:What we mean by “task” and how you go aboutfiguring out what the task is.Although the specific tasks in your courses will vary depending on the content, the professor, and the discipline, the task for any course consists of two parts:1.The type of activity in which you engage.2.The level of thinking required as you engage in the activity.

Chapter 7

Using the Web to Understand TaskFind the Web page of one of your professors and look for information concerning task. For example, ifyou have multiple-choice exams, look to see whether your professor has put any example test items onthe site. Also check out online information about the course. Sometimes rather than putting materialconcerning tests and other course requirements on their own personal Web page, professors will have aseparate page for each course they teach. These pages can provide a wealth of information to help youbetter understand the task.

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Chapter 7Part One:The Type of ActivityThe activity you will be asked to engage in for a class is usually a test, a paper, or a project whichyour instructor will use to evaluate you. But knowing what the activity is isn’t enough informationto be able to carefully select an appropriate approach to the task.

TESTSYou need to know the type of test you will take• Is it an objective exam, which includes multiple-choice, true/false, or matching items?• Is it a subjective exam that requires answering essay,short answer, or identification questions?• Is it a combination of both types?

Because you will approach studying for multiple-choice tests differently than you will approachstudying for essay tests, it’s very important to knowright from the beginning the basic type of test youwill have.As we will discuss in greater detail later inthe book, the kind of reading you do, the way youthink about the material, and the strategies you selectall have a bearing on the kinds of tasks you are askedto complete in a course.

The importance of precisely knowing the task canbe explained by describing a situation that occurredto students enrolled in a large, lecture history course.For each test, students were told that they would have“objective items” and two essay questions. On thefirst four exams, these objective items were alwaysmultiple-choice.When it came time for the finalexam, the professor reiterated that they would havea test that was part objective and part essay and theyassumed that they would once again have multiple-choice questions. Imagine their surprise when thetests were distributed and the objective items werefill-in-the-blanks. Many students were outraged andwent to see the professor when they discovered thatthey had done poorly on the test. But the professorwouldn’t budge. His definition of task for objectiveitems included fill-in-the-blank as well as multiple-choice.The point here is clear: Get as much specificinformation as possible about the test.Ask the rightquestions. Just knowing that you will have anobjective test is likely to be insufficient information.

PAPERS OR PROJECTSIf the task in a course consists of papers or projectsrather than exams, the same advice about preciselyknowing the task holds true.Talk with your professorabout specific aspects of the paper, especially if therequirements seem unclear. In political sciencecourses on our campus, for example, students must doa project that consists of several different pieces. Firstthey select a political issue to follow throughout theterm.They must subscribe to and read the New YorkTimes daily and find a minimum of thirty articlesconcerning their issue. For each article they mustwrite a brief summary.At the end of the term, theycomplete two additional tasks. First they write apolicy statement and then they write a memo to aninfluential political figure about the issue. Studentswho fail to understand how to carry out thenumerous pieces involved in this task have severeproblems in doing well on a long-term project that is30 percent of their grade.

Before reading the next section, read the “ResearchInto Practice” segment.This piece of research suggeststhat you can tell the difficulty of a task just byobserving students’ nonverbal behaviors.

Thinking About the TaskType of Task + Level of Thinking = Task Knowledge

Matching exam + Low Level of Thinking =Memorization

Multiple choice + Medium Level of Thinking =Analysis

Essay/short answer + High Level of Thinking =Synthesis

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Be sure you understandwhat your professor expects from you. Askquestions. Knowing what the task is rightfrom the start enables you to select theappropriate strategies.

STUDY TIP

[low performing group] . . . failed to “accommodate” Dr. Stack and his communication about the task.Drs. Simpson’s and Nist’s finding about the

importance that task interpretation plays in learningand studying in college is an important one. If youdon’t know precisely what it is your professorexpects from you, you are doomed to struggle, atbest becoming frustrated, and at worst making lowgrades. Simpson and Nist found that students inhistory, for example, often defined the task asmemorizing names, dates, and facts, much as theyhad done in high school. But their collegeprofessor looked at history as more analysis andsynthesis. Students who held fast to their highschool model of memorizing to study historystruggled all term with the course. Some, whonever figured out the task, actually failed.Theimplications of this study for you, the student, areclear: Figure out the task and figure it out early inthe term.Then select the strategies that will best fityour professor’s expectations.

Source: M. L. Simpson, and S. L. Nist,“Perspectives on Learning History: A Case Study,Journal of Literacy Research 29, (1997):363–395.

RESEARCH INTOPRACTICE

A Case Study of How Students Figure Out TaskIn this article, Drs. Simpson and Nist followed andinterviewed ten students enrolled in a large-lectureintroductory history course over an entire term.Some of these students performed very well, somewere average, and some were below average in theirtest scores.The researchers were interested indetermining the factors that enabled some of thestudents to earn As and Bs, while others failed.Although they found that the high-performingstudents used more efficient and effective studystrategies, the more important finding was that theyunderstood what their professor expected fromthem.They correctly interpreted the task, whichwas to write essay answers that called for synthesisand analysis in a well-structured format, andselected their strategies for studying after they haddetermined the task. In other words, their taskdefinition drove their strategy choice, not viceversa. Drs. Simpson and Nist concluded that:

. . . when we reflected on the congruency between the professor’s and students’ perceptionsof task, we concluded that Dr. Stack [the professor] did communicate the task to students in a variety of explicit and implicit ways. . .The HPG [high performing group] had little problem in determining what it was that Dr.Stack wanted them to do. . . . However, the LPG

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Part Two:The Level of ThinkingOnce you have identified the specific activities your professor expects, you’re halfway there.Theother part of task identification—perhaps the more important part—is knowing the level ofthinking that is required to carry out the task.There are many types of thinking that a professormay want you to engage in. Knowing the level of questions your professor asks can help youchoose appropriate learning and study strategies.

Understanding of Bloom’s taxonomy, a classification system that provides a way to categorize thekinds of questions that students typically encounter in their classes can be valuable in determiningwhat you need to do for a course. Bloom discusses six levels of questioning: knowledge,comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Each is briefly touched on below.

1. KNOWLEDGEThis includes knowledge of dates, events, major ideas,bold-faced terms.• Question Words: list, define, describe, identify, match,name, what, who, when, where• Examples: When was Earl Warren named as chiefjustice of the Supreme Court? Which presidentnamed him?• What are food vacuoles?• Define parasomnias.

2. COMPREHENSIONThis includes grasping the meaning, explaining orsummarizing, grouping, predicting outcomes, orinferring.• Question Words: summarize, describe, interpret,distinguish, defend, explain, discuss, predict• Examples: Explain the three different theories thataccount for people’s behavior while they are underhypnosis.• Describe the major components of LBJ’s GreatSociety.• Discuss the role of the small intestine in thedigestion process.

3. APPLICATIONThis level requires the ability to use the material in a new context, to solve problems, or to utilize rules,concepts, or theories.• Question Words: apply, demonstrate, calculate,illustrate, show, relate, give an example of, solve• Examples: If a plant with the genotype of BbCcDdwas crossed with a plant that was BBCcdd, what arethe chances of producing a plant with the genotypeof BbCcDd?

• Apply what you know about normal sleep patternsto how major sleep disorders may be treated.

4. ANALYSISThis involves understanding organization of parts,clarifying, concluding, or recognizing hiddenmeaning.• Question Words: analyze, explain, compare andcontrast, select, arrange, order• Examples: Compare and contrast the effects ofstimulants and depressants on the body and mind.• Select the most appropriate method for solving this calculus problem.

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Chapter 75. SYNTHESISThis involves creating new ideas, relating knowledgefrom several sources of information, predicting,drawing conclusions.• Question Words: combine, create, design, formulate,compose, integrate, rewrite, generalize• Examples: Rewrite the play The Cherry Orchard as ifit were written by Ibsen.• Design a program for an individual who is sufferingfrom insomnia.

6. EVALUATIONThis relies on the ability to make choices based onevidence, to support a stance with reasoning, torecognize subjectivity, to assess value of theories.• Question Words: support, judge, discriminate, assess,recommend, measure, convince, conclude• Examples: How successful would the proposedfederal income tax cut be in controlling inflation aswell as decreasing unemployment?• Do you agree with President Johnson’s decision toescalate the Vietnamese conflict? Why or Why not?

Source: Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Toronto: Longmans, Green.

Many objective exams will have questions at each ofthese levels.Thus, you need to think about this part ofthe task and concentrate your studying effortsdifferently depending on the knowledge levelrequired. Some students believe that objective examsdon’t involve higher-level thinking.That is, they thinkthat multiple-choice and true/false tests are basicallymemorization tasks. However, on most objective tests,some of the questions will be factual in nature, somewill ask for examples, and some will require you tosynthesize and analyze. Most essay questions requirethe highest level of thinking, but other subjectiveexams, such as identification items, could ask for justfactual information. Remember, unless you know thetask and the types of thinking expected, you will havea difficult time selecting the appropriate studystrategies. In the next section, we will give you somehints about how to get more information about the task.

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Chapter 7MONITOR YOUR

LEARNING

Most college students do not consciously sit down at the beginning of the term and say to themselves, “Gee,before I start doing my reading and studying for this class, I’d better figure out the task!” For students whointuitively understand that it is important to figure out the course demands, it’s more of an unconsciouseffort. Think about yourself as a learner and then respond to the following questions as a way of monitoringyour learning about your knowledge of the tasks for your classes:

Have you taken time this term to figure out the task in each of your classes? If not, how might you begin togather that information this term and in future terms?

Have you ever been in a class where you had a very difficult time understanding what the professor’sexpectations were? How did you handle that situation? What might you do differently now?

Can you think of any other sources that might be able to give you task information?

How might you organize your notes to draw attention to task information?

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Chapter 7 How Is the Task Communicated?Now that you understand how important it is to know the task for each of your classes, you mightask the obvious question: How do I figure out how to carry out the task? Because few professorswill state the task precisely and completely, it becomes important for you to be able to piecetogether bits of information from a variety of sources in order to paint the picture for yourself.

ATTEND CLASS EVERY DAY The best place to begin, of course, is with what yourprofessor says in class, especially in the early part ofthe term. Some professors delineate the task veryneatly and clearly on the first day when they go overthe syllabus. Others will give you a big picture of thetask early in the term and then fill in the details as thecourse progresses. Still others, and perhaps mostcollege professors fall into this category, give you acombination of implicit and explicit cues and expectyou to pick up on those cues.

WRITE IT DOWNIt’s just as important to take notes concerning what’sexpected of you as it is to take notes on the content.Students often think that they will remember how tostructure an essay or the types of questions that willbe on their exams. However, they may discover twoor three weeks later that they have only a faintrecollection, or worse, no recollection at all, of someimportant piece of information that the professor haddiscussed in class. Go to class, listen carefully, andwrite down in your lecture notes what your professorsays about the task.

CONSULT YOUR SYLLABUSRead your syllabus carefully at the beginning of thecourse and then return to it on a regular basis. Lookfor any statements that tell you about courseexpectations. Examine your syllabus for the followinginformation:

All of these factors either directly or indirectlyrelate to task.Thus it is important not only to readyour syllabus carefully at the beginning of the term,but also to refer to it often as the term progresses.

The number of tests you will have or papersyou will have to write, and the approximatedates tests will be given or papers will be due

Your professor’s office hours and phonenumber (or e-mail address) so that you knowhow to make an appointment to talk with her

Your professor’s policies on make-up work orthe consequences of missing an exam oranother deadline

Your professor’s attendance policies (if any)

Your professor’s philosophy on the course,which can give you insight into how yourprofessor will approach the content and can goa long way in helping you define the task

The course objectives. Reading thesestatements will tell you what the professorhopes you will learn in the course

One of our favoritequotes comes from E. Jean Carroll whostated, “If Joan of Arc could turn the tide ofan entire war before her 18th birthday, youcan get out of bed.” But we would like toadd “. . . and go to class” to this quote.Attending every class is one of the mostimportant things you can do to help you not only stay on task, but also to betterunderstand the specific tasks for each course.

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ASK YOUR PROFESSOR TO SHOWSAMPLE QUESTIONS

Sample questions can give you information about the level of thinking and the types of questions yourprofessor tends to use. Some professors even make oldexams available to students. If so, avoid using them as a study guide because the professor will write thesame types of questions on future exams, but will notask the exact same questions.

ASK FORMER STUDENTSStudents who have already taken the course will beable to give you details about a course and aprofessor. But make sure that you ask former studentsthe right questions. For example, asking someone,“Are Professor Smith’s tests difficult?” is not the bestway to pose the question because what is difficult toone person may not be difficult to another. Betterquestions would be:“What kind of tests doesProfessor Smith give?”“Can you remember examplesof some questions?”“What kinds of structure does heexpect for essay questions?”“Does he give you muchguidance?” Questions such as these give you answersabout the task.

When All Else FailsIf you have exhausted all efforts to figure out thetask in a course, go see your professor—especially if you have already taken one test andperformed poorly. Starting a conversation withyour professor by explaining what you are doingand asking her for advice about how to studymay give you a lot more information about howshe wants you to think about the courseinformation. If you ignore the fact that you arein the dark about the task, and continue doingpoorly in the course, you will only becomefrustrated.

REALITY CHECK

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Chapter 7 Technology in College ClassesMost of your college professors will incorporate technology (specifically computers and theInternet) into their classes. But expect to find a wide range in the level of integration. Someprofessors will be old school, low-tech holdouts who won’t even have an e-mail account. Otherprofessors will use high-tech presentations during class with extravagant special effects. Mostprofessors fall somewhere in the middle and use technology where they find it to be mostbeneficial for explaining course content and supporting classroom instruction.You can expect tosee some or all of the following uses of technology as part of the tasks in your college courses.Andyou will probably find several other ways that professors incorporate technology into their coursetasks as new tools become available.

COMPUTERIZED CLASSPRESENTATIONS (SUCH AS POWERPOINT)

Many professors use computer slides to outline theirlectures.They may use overheads of diagrams or showvideo clips to emphasize points.They may also displayWeb pages or other Internet sources of informationduring class.

COMPUTERIZED NOTESIt is becoming more common for professors to puttheir notes on the Web.Web notes are best used as asupplement or guide for taking your own notes inclass (see Chapter 8 for strategies on using Web noteseffectively).You may also find yourself in a classroomequipped with computers or computer hookups thatallow you to take notes on a laptop. Such classroomsare equipped with the latest technology.This is awonderful service that we suggest you take advantageof if it is available on your campus.

Although more students bring laptops to class for taking lecture notes,more students are also using their laptops during lectures to do everything from surfing theWeb to answering e-mail. On some campuses this has become such a huge problem thatprofessors have actually banned laptops from their classrooms. A word to the wise: Whileyou’re in class, use your laptop for the purpose it was intended. It’s a great tool for not onlytaking notes but also for organizing them after class.

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COMPUTER MODULES OR CD-ROMSUPPLEMENTS

Some professors place sample questions or problemson the Web so that students can evaluate theirunderstanding of the course material as they preparefor exams. Other professors (especially in the sciences)provide supplementary material on CD-ROMs.These CDs generally contain information that cannotbe depicted in a text format, such as a video of achemical reaction, but enhances the informationdiscussed in a lecture or in the text.

COMPUTERIZED COURSEMANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (SUCH AS WEB CT OR BLACK BOARD)

Professors using these course management systems areoften quite resolute in their belief that such systemsadd another dimension to the course material.Theymay place their syllabi, quizzes, assignments, practiceexams, and other course information there.They mayalso post student grades or have virtual chats with theclass.We even know a professor who conducts examreviews online. If your professor uses these systems,plan to visit the site often to keep up on newassignments and important information.

COURSE EXAMSSome courses will require you to take exams on acomputer. Many mathematics courses are movingtoward computerized exams. In addition, Englishprofessors may require students to write and submitessays via computers and then provide feedback onpapers using computerized mark-up systems.Takingan exam on a computer is a bit different from the oldpaper and pencil type. But you should not abandonyour traditional test-taking strategies. Continue toread each question carefully and answer the items youknow first. However, you should find out whetheryou can return to a question or if you must answereach item before moving on to the next one. Somestudents say that having exams on computers takessome getting used to, but once you have someexperience, it is just like taking any other test.

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Chapter 7 READINGSYour professors may assign readings that can only befound online.They may be from Web-based journals,supplied by the campus library’s online service, orfrom any number of other sources. If you find youhave trouble reading online, as many people do, wesuggest you print it out in advance.

E-MAIL ASSIGNMENTSProfessors may require you to submit assignmentsover e-mail. If it is a short assignment, typing yourresponse straight into the e-mail message is generallyacceptable. If, however, you are required to turn in alonger assignment (more than one page), it is best totype it in a word processing program and send it as afile attachment. Be sure to use the file type requestedby your professor. If you do not know how to dothis, go to the nearest computer lab to get some help.

GROUP PRESENTATIONSAt some point in your college career, you willprobably find yourself in a course that requires agroup presentation that has a technology component.Some professors require a Web-based presentation orone that utilizes several types of media.We suggestthat you meet with your group early and often andexperiment with the technology several times beforepresenting it in class to work out any problems.

DISCUSSION GROUPS ANDLISTSERVSThese supports are used to generate discussionoutside the class. Some professors even require eachstudent to post a certain number of messages eachweek to ensure that the listserv is used.You can askquestions or see what other people are thinking togain multiple perspectives on the course information.

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3. Resolute (adj., p.115)—firm or determined; unwavering. Lamar was resolute in his belief that if hestudied for 40 hours per week he would keephis scholarship.

4. Generic(ally) (adj., p.117)—general; not havinga trademark or a brand name. When they are available, most doctors willprescribe generic drugs for their patients sincethey tend to be less expensive.

1. Reiterate (v., p.107)—to say or do again orrepeatedly. In order to make sure that the classunderstood the task, the teacher reiteratedthe details of the assignment.

2. Delineate (v., p.112)—to sketch out;describe; outline. Before they could begin their game of touchfootball, the two teams had to delineate theboundaries.

WORD WISE

Chapter 7

Returning students who have notbeen part of the technology loop may feel somewhatintimidated if their campus is high-tech or if most of theirprofessors incorporate technology into their courses. If youfind yourself in this situation, see if your campus offers eithera formal course or workshops to help get you up to speed.More and more campuses are offering what are genericallyreferred to as IT (information technology) literacy courses toteach students how to effectively use technology to learn.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

and labeling diagrams she tended tomake good grades. But, the factremains: She just doesn’t like science ofany type, plain and simple.

As Tanya looks over her classschedule for the term, she thinks aboutskipping the first class or two, because

from her perspective, two fewer biology classes to goto would be a good thing. But her roommate, whohas already taken the course, advises her to attendevery class—even the first one.Tanya reluctantly takesthe advice and actually thought the professor wasengaging and humorous.

Obviously, in order to earn a good grade in thiscourse,Tanya is going to have to figure out what thetasks are. On the first day, the professor said that therewould be three objective exams, lab reports, and acumulative final, but he didn’t say much else aboutthe tasks.

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TANYA’S TASKDIRECTIONS: Read the followingscenario and respond to the questionsbased on the information you learned in this chapter.Tanya decided that she could nolonger put off getting her lab science requirement out of the way,especially because she has to endure two semesters ofit once she makes her selection. She “hates sciencewith a passion,” and would much rather simplypursue her major courses in creative writing. It’s notthat she hasn’t done well in science. In fact, becauseher grades in high school biology classes were quitegood, she decided that she would go ahead and takebiology in college rather than chemistry, which gaveher nightmares in high school. She sees herself as agood memorizer and since her high school biologyexperience involved lots of memorization of terms

What can Tanya do?

Think about Tanya’s situation and respond to the following questions:

1. What additional information do you think Tanya needs so that she can have a clearer idea of the task?

2. How should she go about gathering the necessary information?

3. How will Tanya’s dislike of science influence the way she might approach this course?

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For each of your classes this term answer the following questions related to task:

1. What is the task for this course? Start by looking at the syllabus, e-mailing the professor, or talking to a TA.

Course 1

Course 2

Course 3

Course 4

2. Write down the specific tasks and how you figured out what the professor expected from you.

Course 1

Course 2

Course 3

Course 4

3. What clues did he give that helped you figure it out?

Course 1

Course 2

Course 3

Course 4

4. Finally, think about how you will approach each course based on the task. How should you approachstudying for each exam?

Course 1

Course 2

Course 3

Course 4

As the term progresses, reread your assessment of what you thought the tasks were and see if you were correct.

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